


What Goes on the Internet

by AnotherFan (imagine_asagao)



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, M/M, Professor!Bill Cipher, Student!Dipper Pines
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2018-12-20 19:14:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 7,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11927436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imagine_asagao/pseuds/AnotherFan
Summary: Since Pacifica and Mabel started dating, they liked to annoy Dipper by sending unnecessary updates on their relationship.  After one such update, Dipper replies but accidentally sends it to the wrong person, and since Mabel had stolen Dipper's phone and added a bunch of new people to his Snapchat friends, he has no idea who it is.  Of course it turns out to be his attractive professor.  How did Mabel get his Snapchat?  And how will this new development change their relationship?





	1. TMI

**Author's Note:**

> So Professor Bill Cipher and student Dipper Pines is my guilty pleasure (if you need suggestions of my favorite two, I can tell you), and naturally I decided to make a fic for it. In future chapters, I would like to add smut, but I can't write smut, so if someone's willing to help me out, that would be much appreciated. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

Today was the day. Today, Dipper was supposed to receive the results of a science essay that he has entered.  He kept his phone in his hand the whole day just in case he got that fateful email.  When he returned to his dorm, his roommate, Soos, suggested that he play video games with him to relax.  Dipper felt like he didn't have enough time since he still had homework, so he opted to take a shower instead.  However, since he hadn't yet gotten the contest results, he took his phone with him.  When he was drying off from his shower, his phone went off.  After checking the notifications, he realized it was just a snap from Pacifica.  Nevertheless, he opened it.  Pacifica had sent him a picture with her a Mabel on a dorm bed with no sign of a shirt or bra on with the caption "Sex with your sister is amazing".

Dipper groaned, dropping his hands to his side and slumping over to lightly bang his head on the shower wall.  The movement caused his phone to slip from his grip and fell to the floor.  After making sure the phone was alright, Dipper took a picture of his middle finger, not even trying to disguise the fact that he was in a shower, and captioned it with "I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE SEX YOU HAVE WITH MY SISTER, JUST LEAVE ME OUT OF IT!!!!!!!!"

He scrolled through his contacts until he found Pacifica.  He tapped it to send it to her and hit sent.  However, when he glanced back down on the screen as it was sending, he realized it was Pacifica he had sent it to; it was someone else.  A username Dipper didn't recognize.  It must've been someone Mabel had added when she stole his phone.  Dipper immediately took a completely black picture and captioned "WRONG PERSON, SORRY" before sending it to the same person.

He then took a defeated looking selfie which he captioned "I just told a stranger that I don't care about their sex life with my sister. I'm going to die" and sent it to the correct Pacifica.

After that, he took another blank picture and captioned it "By the way, I don't recognize your name. My sister must have added you. Who are you?" which was sent to the mysterious contact from before.

Not long after, Pacifica sent a picture of Mabel with the caption" SUCKS TO BE YOU who was this stranger?"  It took until Dipper was back in his dorm to get an answer to that question.  The stranger in question sent Dipper a Snap, so he opened it.

It was a selfie of an attractive man with blond hair and an eyepatch who looked like he knew he was everything and actually was captioned "I'm Bill Cipher. I gave Shooting Star my Snapchat so she could feel free to talk to someone. She must've shared it with you."  Fortunately, Professor Cipher hadn't set a time limit on the picture as it took Dipper a whole lot longer than ten seconds to process what just happened.  He had just sent Professor Cipher a picture of his naked body (even though you could only see he was shirtless), saying that he didn't care about his sex life with his sister.  Professor Cipher.  The most infamous professor on campus.  The world renowned expert of the supernatural.  The toughest teacher who attracted students from all over just to take his classes.  The most attractive professor who, to the best of everyone's knowledge, had never even been on a date despite being hit on by so many people, students and staff alike.  The Professor Cipher who Dipper had a slight crush on and just so happened to be judging the contest he had entered.

When he had processed it enough, he closed the picture and sent Pacifica a picture of the floor captioned "the stranger was prof cipher. kill me".  Cipher had sent him another snap. Dipper opened it.


	2. You Lose Some (or all)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (This is my third time writing this chapter, so please excuse any mistakes) Just in case you were wondering, my two favorite college fics are Decipher by Rinkashin and Professor William Cipher by Batfan. And now let's hope I save often enough this time!

The snap this time was another selfie, but it clearly showed Cipher shirtless and lounging on a yellow couch. Dipper tried not to look at his professor's toned chest, but he lost that battle.  He finally read the caption "I guess Mabel and Pacifica finally had sex.  It was something Mabel was worried about.  Anyways, Pine Tree, now that you have my Snapchat, is there anything you want to talk about?"  Once again, Dipper was glad that Cipher had his snaps sent to the highest setting because he wrote so much for Snapchat pictures.  Mabel sent him a snap, so he opened that.

"I am so sorry bro bro" was all it said on a black screen.

Dipper took a selfie smiling with a thumbs-up and sent it to Mabel with the caption "Its all good.  Awkward but good".

He then took a picture of the dorm window and captioned it "Don't have anything now thanks though" before sending it to his professor.  He groaned and flopped onto his bed.

"What's wrong, dude?" Soos asked him.

"I just sent an embarrassing picture to a teacher," Dipper mumbled into the bed.

"What was that?" Soos asked.  Dipper rolled over onto his back and repeated the last sentence before shoving a pillow on his face.  "Surely it wasn't that bad," Soos said.

Dipper removed the pillow and said "I told Professor Cipher that I didn't care about the sex he had with my sister while I was clearly in the shower."

"Oh.  It is that bad," Soos said. "Cheer up, dude.  Maybe you still won the contest."  Just then, Dipper's phone went off.  He grabbed it and upon noticing it was an email and not a snap, sat up and opened the notification.

"Dear Dipper,

I regret that I must write to say that 'A Close Longitudinal Study of the Strange Occurrences in Gravity Falls, Oregon' has not been selected for publication in the United States Statewide College Journal.  
  
Please believe me when I say that our committee enjoyed reading every one of the pieces of writing we received, including yours.  
  
I know how much work (and courage!) it takes to write, revise, and submit a piece of writing to a contest or journal. I hope that you all will continue to write and share your writing. Check out your local college journal – please consider being a part of that!

  
  
Thank you so much for sending us your writing.  
  
Sincerely,  
Tad Strange  
  
Co-chair, United States Statewide College Journal"

As soon as he read "I regret that I must write", Dipper slouche and skimmed the rest of the email.  "I didn't win the contest," he sighed.

"Aw, dude, I'm sorry.  Will video games help you feel better?" Sips asked.

"I guess," Dipper said gloomily.  He took a sceeenshot of the email and sent it to Mabel on Snapchat. Immediately, she replied sympathetically.  Dipper took heart that his twin and roommate cared for him, but he still was disheartened that the essay he had worked so hard on didn't win.

~*~

Dipper woke up to the alarm clock on his phone.  He didn't want to attend classes today, but he shared first class with Mabel, and if he didn't show up, she would ask him more questions than he felt like answering.  It would just be easier to go to class and pretend to pay attention than it would be to face the Mabel.  Dipper pulled himself out of bed and got ready for classes that day.  He had every intention to hide out in his dorm for the rest of the day as soon as class was over.  What Dipper forgot was that Bill Cipher taught his second class.

"Hey bro bro, how are you?" Mabel asked when Dipper arrived at class, clearly as hyper as always but toning it down to sound more caring.  Dipper shrugged.  Mabel continued to chatter away until class started.

After class ended, Mabel wished Dipper good luck and headed off to her second class while Dipper went the opposite way for his second class.  The twins tried to get their schedules as similar as possible, and since they were both first years, they were able to get a few of the same classes, and all of their other classes except one were at the exact same time.  Dipper entered the classroom, staring at the ground which meant he didn't see the professor standing in front of him until he ran into him.


	3. Personal Space

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit, I didn't expect this big of a response so quickly! I'm so glad you guys like this! Anyways, here's another chapter for you guys. I'm just spamming chapters until I go back to school where the chapters will trickle off until it's only a few chapters every-so-often

"Hello Pine Tree," Bill Cipher smirked as he caught Dipper after they collided.

"Hello Professor Cipher," Dipper managed to squeak out.

"How's Shooting Star?" Cipher asked.

"She's fine!  Yeah, yeah.  She's fine," Dipper said.

"And you?" Cipher asked, his fiery blue eye burning into Dipper's brown eyes.

"I'm good," Dipper said.

"Good.  I was worried about you after those messages and since you didn't win the contest.  I know how hard submitting to a contest can be and how heartbreaking it is to not win," Cipher said.  Dipper nodded and looked down.  Cipher cleared his throat and said "If you're willing to stay after class, I can help you write better essays."

"Really?" Dipper's head shot up as he stared into Cipher's eye.

"I wouldn't offer if I wasn't serious," he replied.

"Ye... yeah, I'd love that," Dipper said.

"Great, I'll see you after class," Cipher smirked and let Dipper go who walked to his desk without incident and slumped down in his chair.

~*~

After class, Dipper waited until everyone but he and Cipher had left the classroom before approaching Cipher who was writing something at his desk.  After standing there for a minute without any sort of acknowledgement from his professor, Dipper cleared his throat.  Cipher held up a finger and continued writing.  Dipper stood there with his shoulders inching towards his ears and arms in front of his body until Cipher finished what he was writing and looked up.  "Hello Pine Tree," he said.

"Hello Professor Cipher," he replied.

"Professor Cipher sounds so formal.  Call me Bill outside of class," Bill said as he stood up. "So I bet you're wondering why your essay didn't win."

"Yeah, I would," Dipper said, shifting his weight.

"It's simple," Bill said as he walked over towards the student. "You didn't have enough proof.  Most of your essay was just observations and theories with nothing to back them up, no experiments or studies."

"But how was I supposed to write an essay about Gravity Falls if I'm not in Gravity Falls?" he asked.

"That's your problem.  You could always choose somewhere else," he said, stopping way too close to Dipper who took a step back.

"I used to spend summers in Gravity Falls exploring the strange happenings with my grunkle Ford.  We both remember something about a dream demon, but we can't remember anything about it. I know Gravity Falls and its strange occurrences best.  Write what you know, that's what they say," Dipper said, awkwardly chuckling at the end.

"How about this, kid, I'll make you a deal," Bill said as he put a hand on Dipper's shoulder. "We'll meet for coffee and discuss Gravity Falls later.  And then we'll meet at the library or my place for tutoring lessons when we're both available.  All you have to do is promise to not research demons without me.  Those things can be dangerous."

"Yeah, deal," Dipper agreed, thinking that sounded super easy.  Bill held out his hand for Dipper to shake, so he did.  He thought he say Bill's eye glow, but as soon as he blinked, it was gone.  Dipper blinked a few more times and decided he must have just imagined it.

Bill brought Dipper into a hug and whispered "Pleasure doing business with you, Pine Tree."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, in case you're confused of the au part, basically everything but Weirdmageddon happened, so Bill was never vanquished. Instead, he erases everyone's memories of any details of him (including his name). Hope this clears everything up!


	4. Coffee Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thanks to my IRL friend (you know who you are) for helping me decide some stuff in this chapter and dealing with all my Snaps! This will be the last chapter posted today, but I hope to post more tomorrow

When Bill released Dipper, Dipper backed up with his eyes wide.  Bill smirked and said "I'll see you at the nearby coffee shop at four," before strolling away.  Dipper stood there a little longer before hurrying away.  Mabel called him as he walked out the door.

"Hey Dip Dop?" she asked.

"Yeah?" Dipper replied.

"What's an appropriate outfit to wear while meeting Pacifica's parents as her girlfriend?" she asked.

"Why are you asking me?" he asked as he walked down the hall.

"Because I'm freaking out and Pacifica's in class and when she gets back we're heading over to her place and I don't know what to wear!" she exclaimed.

"I don't know what you should wear either," he said. "Normally I'd recommend being yourself, but it's Pacifica's parents."

"I'll just wear a collared dress with a sweater over it," she sighed. "Anyways, how are you?"

"Cipher invited me to coffee," he answered.

"Little Dipper has a date!" Mabel sang. "Oh, this dress would go perfectly with that sweater.  Wait, who was it with again?"

"Professor Cipher," Dipper said.  There was a beat of silence and then:

"YOU'RE GOING ON A DATE WITH CIPHER?!" Mabel screeched.

"It's not a date, Mabel.  He's curious about Gravity Falls," Dipper explained.

"It sounds like a date to me."

"Well, it's not."

"Besides, weren't you in the shower when you sent that fateful snap?  He must've liked seeing you naked."

"Mabel!"

"What?"

"That's not right.  And anyways, how would be know I'm pansexual?"

"Eveybody knows I'm gay, and if one twin identities as LGBTQ plus, the other twin has a fifty percent chance of also identifying as part of the community.  Did he give you any clue he's interested in you that way?"

"Well..."

"Oh, what, what?!"

"He did send me a picture of him shirtless..."

"It's totally a date!"

"Mabel, for the last time, it's not a date!"

"Uh-huh, keep on believing that, bro bro.  Anyways, I need to leave so I can get ready.  Good luck on your date!"

Dipper sighed and said "Good luck meeting Pacifica's parents."

~*~

Dipper put Journal Three in his messanger bag along with a blank notebook and letters from his grunkles and put his phone in his pocket.  "See you later, Soos," he said as he passed him.

"See you later dude," Soos said.

Dipper hurried along to the coffee shop where he looked around for Bill Cipher.  He didn't appear to be there yet, so Dipper sat at a table and busied himself with his phone.

"Hello Pine Tree," a voice said.  Dipper looked up to see Bill standing over him.  He stood up, but Bill said "Don't worry about that.  What coffee do you want?"

"Uh, cafe mocha, please," he said.

"Okay," Bill said as he got in line. Dipper discretely studied his teacher.  Bill had changed out of the suit he wore in class and into black skinny jeans and a yellow button-down with the top few buttons open.  He had to admit, he had a very attractive professor.  When Bill glanced over at Dipper, he once again went on his phone and acted like nothing had happened.  Bill brought over two coffees, a piece of cake, a muffin, and a cookie.  "One cafe mocha for you," he said as he handed it to Dipper. "And these treats are for your enjoyment."

"Thanks Bill," Dipper said.  Bill stared at him for a second before smiling a genuine smile.

"No problem Pine Tree.  Now," he said as he sat down in front of Dipper, "tell me all about Gravity Falls."


	5. Promises, Promises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So school just started, and I'm not in as many classes with my friends as I would like (I'm currently in lunch not sitting close to anyone), but there were a few pleasant surprises. I'm just going to be spamming you guys with chapters until I get swamped with homework

So Dipper told him everything. He told Bill about the adventures he and Mabel had, the Journals and the Author, and the mystery of the dream demon who mysteriously vanished with all but the most vague details remaining in their memories.  When he was done, Bill asked "And do you have one of the Journals with you?"

"Yeah," Dipper said and pulled Journal Three from his messenger bag.  He gave it to Bill who was more than ready to receive it.

"This," Bill said as he flipped through the Journal, "this is amazing, Pine Tree."

"Thanks. Great Uncle Ford wrote most of it, but I filled in the gaps," Dipper said, taking a sip of his cafe mocha.

"Where's the other journals?" Bill asked.

"With my grunkles," Dipper said.

"Is it alright if I keep this?" Bill asked, closing the Journal.

"Umm...  We agreed to never let anyone else look at the journals unless one of us were there, but..." Dipper trailed off.  He couldn't  _not_ let his professor look at it, but he had promised Ford he'd not let anyone gain access to the information in the Journal.  That was the deal to let him take it with him.

Bill, sensing Dipper's discomfort, set the book down, smiled, and said "It's okay.  I know how important family is to you.  If you promised them you wouldn't let the journal stray far from you, that's okay.  We'll just have to look at it together during our study sessions."

"Thanks," Dipper sighed, smiling. He reached for the Journal and grabbed it.  Bill let go of the Journal just to grab it over Dipper's hands before pushing it towards Dipper.

"How about we meet tomorrow at the library for our first study session at the same time?" Bill asked.

"Sure," Dipper agreed.  Bill let go of his hands and stood up.  He turned to leave but then turned back.

"There's a new movie about the supernatural in theaters. Want to watch it to make fun of how wrong it is?" Bill asked.

"I don't know, I still have a lot of homework to do..." Dipper said.

"I'll let my homework be due during our study session tomorrow, and I happen to know that your English homework will have an extension to account for the troubles with the website," Bill said.

"... Fine, I'll go." Dipper stood up and put the Journal in his bag.

"Let's go," Bill smirked.


	6. Lights, Camera, Action

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have an exciting announcement! Please welcome Bridget as my beta! Thank you so much for your help! The time between chapters will get longer, but the quality will be getting better, so look forward to that

The theater was, luckily enough, within walking distance, so Bill and Dipper walked to the theater.  They walked up to the ticket counter where a tired college student was working, trying to earn some extra cash.  “Two tickets for the five o’clock showing of  _ Nearly Almost Dead But Not Quite Three _ ,” Bill ordered.

“That’ll be twenty dollars,” the cashier said, ringing them up.  Bill handed over his credit card and received the credit card, a receipt to keep and a receipt to sign, and two tickets.  “Enjoy the show,” the student said.

“Thanks,” Dipper said as they walked away.

“Do you want any snacks?” Bill asked.

“I’m good.  We did just have coffee,” Dipper chuckled awkwardly.  Which was normal, right?  But a movie?  Was going to the movies with your professor professional?  Dipper stood up straighter and smiled.  He wanted to make a good impression.

“Professor Cipher!” a voice called.  Both Bill and Dipper turned toward the voice to see Gideon Gleeful waving to them.  Bill waved back, which Gideon took as an opportunity to approach them.  Dipper glared at him.  Who did he think he was, interrupting them?

“Hello Gleeful,” Bill replied.

“I have a question about the assignment,” he continued. “Would writing about my hometown, Gravity Falls, work?  I have friends over there collecting evidence - on my very precise orders, of course.” 

‘Are you kidding me, that's what I entered in the contest!  And he has proof...’ Dipper thought.

“That has potential, kid.  I like it,” Bill nodded.  Dipper stared at him.  But… that’s what he said about  _ his _ work.  How come Gideon also was told he has potential?  It’s not like he’s anything special.

“So I can do that?” Gideon asked in his annoying voice.

“Of course.  Would you like to watch a movie with us?  We’re going to watch  _ Nearly Almost Dead But Not Quite Three  _ and make fun of all its inaccuracies,” Bill said.  Dipper couldn’t believe it.  Did he really mean the same as Gideon Gleeful to his professor?  Gideon was a liar and cheat!

“Sorry, professor, but I’ll have to decline.  I need to work on my homework unlike  _ some _ people,” Gideon said, that last part clearly aimed at Dipper.

“Okay.  I’ll see you in class.  Keep up the good work!” Bill said before turning back to Dipper. “So are you ready to watch the movie?”  Dipper nodded, a sour look on his face.  Bill handed the tickets to the ticket taker and pulled on Dipper’s wrist to guide him to the movie theater.  “Where do you want to sit?” Bill asked.  Dipper shrugged, so Bill led him to the top corner.  The theater was far from empty, but there was still enough room for the two of them to sit together without anyone sitting next to them.  Bill leaned in close and whispered to Dipper “So how high are your expectations for the movie?”

“Low,” he whispered back.  Bill chuckled softly.  During the advertisements before the actual movie started, Bill rested an arm around Dipper’s shoulders before pointing at a guy in a library on screen who was engrossed in a book while listening to music and took no notice of the books flying around him in an ad for a romcom.

“He reminds me of you, Pinetree,” he whispered.

“Those poor books,” Dipper whispered back.  A few seconds later, he pointed out the attractive librarian that all the people throwing books were trying to get the attention of just so they could show off or get help and whispered to Bill “He reminds me of you.”  He could see Bill smile in the dim light.  

During the whole movie, Bill stayed with his arm around Dipper’s shoulders and leaning into him as they traded remarks on how bad the special effects were and how inaccurate it was.  When it was over, they left the movie theater and headed outside.  “Which dorm are you in?” Bill asked.

“Hirsch Hall,” Dipper replied.  Bill started walking in that direction, and Dipper hurried to catch up.  Did this mean that he thought Dipper was worthy of his time?  To Dipper’s knowledge, Bill hadn’t done that for anyone else.  This was progress!

“So…” Bill shrugged as they walked together. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Uhh…” Dipper thought.  He had to think of something intelligent that would impress Bill.  This was the professor where anybody who was somebody in the study of the supernatural was a student or close acquaintance.  How would it affect his career if his professor thought of him as just another student?  And if he did think Dipper was smart, imagine all the people he could introduce him to and the mysteries he could tell!  Dipper was determined to not start off in the field on the wrong foot.

They walked in silence for a bit more as Dipper tried to think of something interesting before Bill interrupted his thoughts.  “So why study the supernatural?”

“What?” Dipper asked.

“Why study the supernatural?  Why not engineering or whatever?”

“Gravity Falls.  I never really had an interest in the supernatural before my first summer there, but that summer, all  _ kinds _ of strange and exciting stuff happened, and there was a... an aura of mystery around the place.  When we left, I just wanted to go back and explore and learn more.”

“Sounds like you have fond memories of the place.”

“Some are yeah.  Some are… less so.”  Bill didn’t respond, so the two of them walked some more in silence.  Dipper tried to think of more things to talk about but nothing seemed good enough.  He opened his mouth to talk a few times but then thought better of it and said nothing.

“Well, you’ve returned safe and sound.  Good night, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Bill said as he walked away before waved goodbye.  He walked inside the dorm building and was almost at his room before he realized: Did Bill not think he was capable of walking himself home?


	7. Yes, No, Maybe So

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I'm not dead! Once again, thank you Bridget!

Dipper entered his dorm to find Soos missing.  “Soos?” he called.  No answer.  He checked the apartment for Soos who almost never leaves but instead found a note from Soos explaining that he was on a date with his girlfriend.  Dipper sighed in relief that his friend wasn’t kidnapped or lost.  He set his messenger bag and worked on his homework.

Partway through his psychology homework, his mind started to wander.  What were Bill’s intentions with their - what _was_ it?  Was it a meeting?  No, he wouldn’t have invited him to the movie.  A hangout?  That term was generally used between two friends, and whatever they were, they weren’t that.  A chat?  Again, the movie.  A date?  But he invited Gideon to the movie.  None of these words seemed right.  The closest thing was date because of the coffee and movie, and it certainly wasn’t that.  Right?  There’s no way.  There’s no way his professor would ask him on a date.  He wouldn’t.  What would his attractive professor see as date material in him?  So even though that word worked the best, it wasn’t the right word to use.  Especially since he asked Gideon to join them.

‘ _Was I not good enough for Bill?  Did he realize that during our conversations?_ ’ Dipper thought.

Then why would he ask Dipper to the movies and then proceed to invade his personal space?  That led back to the initial question: _What were Bill’s intentions?_  If he hadn’t asked Dipper to go to the movies with him, he’d probably assume that he had just wanted to learn more about the supernatural occurrences in Gravity Falls, but when Gideon also talked about Gravity Falls, that’s when Bill asked him to join.  Was Bill only interested in Gravity Falls— or would he have invited any of his students to join them?

Dipper sighed and rested his head in his hands.  He thought that this wouldn’t be so damn confusing if his professor wasn’t so touchy and sending so many messages.  He grabbed his phone and opened Snapchat.  He took an all black picture, captioned _‘why is this so confusing,’_ and sent it to Mabel.  He put his phone down before staring at the wall for a brief while.  He sighed yet again and returned to his homework.

A few minutes later, Mabel sent back a picture captioned _‘Whats so confusing?’_

Dipper replied simply with _‘life’_ before going back once again to his homework.

Almost instantly, Mabel sent him a snap that had the caption _‘Ok to call?’_ Dipper called Mabel and set the phone to speakerphone so he could work on his homework while talking - couldn’t let Gideon get ahead of him.  Even though he already was.  “Hello?” Mabel asked through the phone.

“Hi Mabel,” Dipper replied.

“Hey Dipper!” Pacifica said.

“Yeah, you’re on speakerphone, but it’s just us,” Mabel explained.

“You’re also on speakerphone, but it’s only me,” he said.

“Where’s Soos?  Or Cipher?”  Mabel asked.

“Soos is with his girlfriend, and I don’t know where Bill is,” Dipper said.

“Are you on a first name basis now?” Pacifica asked.

“He told me to call him Bill outside of class, but he still calls me Pine Tree,” he said. “It reminds me of something, but I’m not sure what…”

“Yeah, silly, not only is it your username on Snapchat, It’s what our classmates called you after our first summer at Gravity Falls,” Mabel said.

“Not, it’s not that…” Dipper trailed off. “Never mind.”

“Is that what’s confusing you?” Mabel asked.

“No, it’s basically everything else,” he groaned.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Pacifica asked.

“I guess,” Dipper said. “Umm…  I guess he’s sending mixed signals?”

“Cipher?” Mabel asked.

“Yeah,” he confirmed.

“Wait, was this a date or not?” Mabel asked.

“That’s part of it.  I’m not sure,” he said.

“What points to it being a date and what points to it not being a date?” Pacifica asked.

“Let’s see…  In the _it was a date_ category…  He paid for everything and even bought me extra food…  During the movie-”

“Wait wait wait—” Mabel interrupted, “Movie?”

“Yeah, he invited me to watch _Nearly Almost Dead But Not Quite Three_ and make fun of it with him,” Dipper said.

“Okay, that goes towards it was a date,” Mabel said.

“Not really,” he said.

“Why not?” Pacifica asked.

“He invited Gideon,” he said, distaste clear in his voice.

“What?!” Mabel exclaimed. “He invited that asshole along with you guys?!”

“He declined by implying he was more responsible than me, so I’m going to get all of the homework we’ve been assigned done,” Dipper said.

“He’s such a jerk,” Mabel said.

“Dipper, is that the only reason you’re not sure if it was a date?  Because he invited Gideon?” Pacifica asked.

“He also suggested that I couldn’t walk myself home,” he said.

“He walked you back?” Pacifica asked.

“Yeah, and said ‘Good, you’re back safe’ as soon as we were at the dorms and then just walked away before I could wave goodbye,” Dipper said with an edge to his voice. “It was as if he didn’t think I could walk by myself!”

“Or he cares,” Pacifica pointed out.

“Funny way of showing it,” he grumbled.

“Maybe he’s scared,” Pacifica said.

Dipper snorted.  “Bill Cipher?  Scared?  Yeah right.”

“It’s possible!  When I first started flirting with your sister, I was so scared of messing up and saying the wrong thing or Mabel disliking me.  I used to do what he did of inviting others and running away.  Has he started to say something then stopped?  That’s something else I did,” Pacifica said.

Dipper stopped writing, thought about it, said “No, I don’t think so,” and continued writing.

“Well, what were the next of the reasons it could’ve been a date?” Mabel asked.

“He paid for everything and more, he put his arm around me during the trailers and kept it there during the movie, he respected my wishes about the Journal-”

“You showed him the Journal?” Mabel interrupted again.

“Uh...  yeah,” he said.

“Wow, you have it bad,” she said.

“He’s a renowned professor of the supernatural, of course I showed it to him!” Dipper said.

“Did he ask to see it?” Mabel asked.

“Yeah,” he said.

“Did he keep glancing up at you?” she asked.

“Uh….” he trailed off.   _‘Did he?’_

“Regardless, it seems to me like he wanted it to be a date but was too scared to do anything yet,” Pacifica said. “So now we just need to figure out one thing.  Do _you_ want it to have been a date, Dipper?”


	8. What the Heart Wants

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 20-8-9-19 / 9-19 / 1 / 20-5-19-20.  
> 23-9-12-12 / 16-5-15-16-12-5 / 4-5-3-15-4-5 / 20-8-5-19-5?  
> 16-12-5-1-19-5 / 12-5-20 / 13-5 / 11-14-15-23.  
> (Do the slashes make it easier or more confusing?)

Dipper thought about that question during the rest of the phone call, all night, and when he woke up.  Did he want it to have been a date?  

On one hand, it was his professor, and who knew what complications that would bring– especially for his career.  Also, Bill probably had impossibly high standards if the rumors about the tons of people who’ve asked him out and been rejected were true.  On the other hand, Bill was attractive and smart.  No one could deny that.  Not to mention the information he could get by being Bill Cipher’s boyfriend.  He could listen to Bill talk for hours.  If Bill were to tell Dipper it was a date, he wouldn’t go against Bill’s wishes, but did  _ he _ want that to happen?  Did he want to be thrown out of safety and into unknown, potentially dangerous, water just to date Bill Cipher?

All day, he thought about that question until it was time for the tutoring session.  He grabbed his messenger bag with everything he possibly needed for the lesson and headed towards the door but stopped.  It had steadily gotten colder, so Dipper put on a jacket.  “See ya later, Soos!” Dipper called as he left.

“See you, dude!” Soos called back.  Dipper left Hirsch Hall and was only about a quarter of the way to the library when it started to rain.  Dipper hurried to the library where Bill was sitting by himself at a table.  He took a breath to collect himself and headed over to Bill.

When he was a few tables away, Bill looked up from the book he was reading and smirked.  He watched Dipper approach and slowly set his book down.  Until Dipper was at the table, he stayed silent.  When he did get there, Bill said “Hello, Pine Tree. Take a seat.”  

Dipper sat down, placed his bag on the floor by his feet, and put his jacket on the back of the chair so it could dry.  

“How much of the essay for my class have you written?”

“I actually finished it,” Dipper said as he handed it to him.  “I decided to write it on how fake reports and experts on the supernatural give anything that relates to the supernatural a bad name.  I used past as well as present figures and the media about them and the supernatural the year they were exposed as well as the years following it.”

Bill took it and looked it over.  Bill’s smirk changed to a critiquing stare.  “Not bad, but I expected more from you,” he said.  Dipper’s heart plummeted.  The professor he looked up to so much was disappointed in him.  “I was hoping you’d do what Gideon did and gather proof from Gravity Falls.”  His stomach twisted in on itself.  Bill was expecting him to use Gideon’s idea?  Did he think he was less than Gideon?  

“To write an essay about the supernatural, you need proof.  If you want your essay to stand out, it needs new information,” Bill said.  Dipper looked at the table and nodded.  “Don’t you have any way of gathering proof?  Any friends of family still in Gravity Falls?”

Dipper shook his head.  “My grunkles are out travelling, and I-”  His eye widened, and his head shot up to stare Bill in the eye.  “My grunkles are travelling!” he whisper-shouted.

“Grunkles?” Bill asked. “And how does them travelling help you write an essay about Gravity Falls?”

“Grunkle’s short for great uncle.  My two grunkles, Stan and Ford, are travelling the world studying the supernatural!  How could I be so stupid!  I’ll ask them for the information of the amount of occurrences in each country with pictures as proof and write the essay on that!”

Bill’s smirk returned.  “Won’t they think you’re stealing their research?”

“I’m only asking for how many, not the specifics.  And it’s just an undergraduate paper.  I don’t think Great Uncle Ford will feel threatened with his twelve PhDs,” Dipper said.  If Bill approved of this, it would do wonders for his career!

“If you can get those numbers and that proof, that would fill and the requirements I mentioned earlier and one more.” Bill’s smirk changed to a smile. “The professor’s approval.”  He stood up and smiled down at Dipper, holding him in eye contact.  “I’ll see you in class, Pine Tree,” he said before walking away.

Dipper beamed at Bill’s retreating back and shook out his hands to calm his nerves.  He thought back to the question Pacifica asked him last night.  Did he want the thing with Bill yesterday to be a date?  Was he willing to risk a safe path to spend more time with and hear compliments from Bill Cipher and learn more from him and tell each other secrets and maybe be called his boyfriend?  Yes, he realized as he got his phone out to email Ford.  Yes he was.


	9. Skeleton in the Closet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween!  
> This... This wasn't supposed to come out on Halloween. Whoops... Sorry for the wait! Write what you know, or else you'll pay the price in editing  
> Once again, thank you so much to my beta Bridget. Without her, this chapter would've been A LOT worse  
> 24-12-14-14-22-13-7 / 2-12-6-9 / 13-26-14-22 / 26-13-23 / 21-26-5-12-9-18-7-22 / 17-12-16-22 / 7-12 / 25-22 / 26 / 24-19-26-9-26-24-7-22-9 / 18-13 / 7-19-18-8 / 8-7-12-9-2

After finishing up in the library, Dipper walked outside to head back to his dorm. As he walked, he saw Mabel and Pacifica carrying lots of bags.   “Hey guys!” he called to them.   
  
“Dipper!” Mabel exclaimed and rushed over to him, Pacifica following at a walking pace.  “How are you?”

“I’m fine.  What did you guys buy?” he asked.

“Halloween costumes,” Pacifica said. “We’re making them ourselves.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll make you one too!” Mabel said.

“What will my costume be?” Dipper asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.  Mabel’s Halloween costumes could be… interesting, to say the least.

“We’re going as Ron and Ginny, and Pacifica will be Luna!” Mabel said.

“Some people ship that, apparently,” Pacifica shrugged. “Will you be going to the party?”

“Party? Probably not, thanks,” Dipper shrugged.

“It’ll be so much fun, though!” Mabel said.

“Mabel… Parties aren’t really my thing…”

“Have you even gone to a single party while at college?” Pacifica asked.

“Well… no,” Dipper admitted.

“Then go to one and see if you like it.  Both Mabel and I will be there, so it’s not like you’ll know no one, and if you don’t like it, you can always leave,” Pacifica said.

“Gideon won’t be there, so you don’t need to worry about that!” Mabel said.

Dipper sighed.  They were going to get him to that party one way or another, weren’t they?  “Fine. One party. That’s it,” he agreed.

“Great!  I’ll tell you the details when I drop your costume off!  See you then!” Mabel said.  She skipped off, Pacifica following her with a lovestruck smile on her face.  Dipper headed back to his dorm.  Halloween was in a week.  He was surprised Mabel waited that long to get costumes, but at least he had a week to mentally prepare for the party.  The last party he went to, back when he was in high school, didn’t go so well.  He didn’t want to repeat it or even remember it.

That last party was back during one of their summers at Gravity Falls.  Pacifica had hosted it before she and Mabel were dating.  At that time, Dipper had a boyfriend.  They had started dating at the beginning of that summer, so they hadn’t been dating long, but then again, Dipper hadn’t been out of the closet long.  During that short time, Dipper fell head over heels.  They went to the party together, but during the party, Dipper found his boyfriend hitting on a very uncomfortable Mabel.  It was then that his boyfriend’s reasons for dating Dipper were exposed.  He hadn’t actually cared for Dipper; he had just wanted to get closer to Mabel.  He had spent almost all of the time he spent dating Dipper also dating someone else while still flirting with Mabel.  That was when Dipper decided he could never forgive Gideon Gleeful.

Dipper frowned and kicked the ground as he walked back to the dorm.  No one outside of Gravity Falls knew about him and Gideon, and he planned to keep it that way.  All of Gravity Falls knowing, small town as it was, was bad enough.  He wasn’t proud of that summer.  He wasn’t proud of the way Gideon managed to control his heart like he did.  Dipper stopped walking and looked up.   _ ‘What about Bill?’ _ he thought.  _ ‘Is he using me too?’ _  The upsetting thought made Dipper shiver in the crisp autumn air.  He never wanted that experience again.

When he finally got back to the dorm, he saw that Soos had put up some Halloween decorations.  “And look!” Soos said after he was done explaining them to Dipper.  He opened the door to the closet.  There was a skeleton right there.  Dipper burst out laughing.

“Is that skeleton gay, or does he have a secret?” he asked Soos between gasps for breath.

“Why not both?” he replied.

“ _ Me, _ ” Dipper replied.

A few days later, Mabel dropped off Dipper’s Halloween costume and told him when and where the party was.  It was off campus at another student’s rented house, but Dipper, Mabel, Pacifica, and Soos, who Mabel had talked into going, we're all going together.  Dipper dreaded the party, but he still decided to go.

When the night of the party finally arrived, the girls went over to the guys’ dorm to get ready.  Pacifica had put on a very Luna outfit and even had radish earrings and Spectrespecs.  Mabel was in a Weasley jumper and was dying her hair orange with a cheap spray hair dye.  Soos had put on a closet cosplay of one of his favorite video game characters.  Dipper put on his Weasley jumper and begrudgingly let Mabel dye his hair as well.

“I think we’re ready!  Let’s go!”  Pacifica said at an hour that Dipper would normally never leave his room, let alone his dorm.  They all left the dorm and headed to the apartment.

“Are you ready?” Mabel asked Dipper as they approached the apartment.  “We can wait outside until you’re ready.”

“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.  Now let’s go before I change my mind.”  Dipper took a deep breath to steady himself and walked forward.  His three friends followed him, Mabel and Pacifica slowly taking the lead and eventually reaching the front door first.  It was unlocked, so they opened it and walked right in as if they belonged there, Dipper and Soos following less surely.  Already, Dipper felt overwhelmed by all the people there.  He stayed towards the edge of the people while Pacifica and Mabel hung out with their friends and Soos made a beeline for the dance floor.  Dipper already regretted coming to the party.  The music was too loud and the people were too close and the air stunk of weed and alcohol.  He eventually found a corner where he occupied himself on his phone with a beer in his hand to make it seem like he wasn’t trying to disappear from the party.  After a while, he got bored of just standing there and headed to the kitchen.  He got another drink and leaned against the wall near a random person.

“So what do you think of the party?” the person asked Dipper.

“It’s fine,” he said, nodding and taking a sip of his drink.

“What are you?” the person asked.

“Ron Weasley.  You?” he replied.

“A vampire,” the person said. “I’m going to get more to drink.  See ya.”

“Okay, see ya,” Dipper said as the person left.  Dipper finished his second beer and this time got a shot of vodka.  Nearby, there were some people seeing who could finish three cups of beer the fastest.  Dipper had nothing else to do, so he watched them.  The competing people eventually roped him in.  He drank all of the beers when it was his turn but never won a game.  As the night went on, he ended up mostly spilling the drinks as he tried to drink them quickly.  The wet shirt clung to him, but he continued drinking and didn’t do anything about it.  A few games later, Dipper looked around the kitchen for Mabel but couldn’t see her.  He went to look for her but stumbled, slowly making his way to the living room.

“ _ Hey pretty boy, _ ” a drunk Gideon purred.

“What do you want?” Dipper snapped, turning away so he didn’t have to look at Gideon.

“Simple.  A date with your sister,” he replied, stepping into Dipper’s personal space.  He grabbed Dipper’s face and forced him to look at him  He was so close Dipper could smell his breath.

“No, you lying creep,” Dipper replied as he pulled his head out of Gideon’s sweaty hands, crossed his arms, and took a step back.

“Come on, don’t be like that,” Gideon said as he tightly gripped Dipper’s wrists to uncross his arms and pull him closer.

“Get away from me!” Dipper shrieked, drunkenly wriggling out of his grasp, and pushed Gideon away, spilling the drinks of everyone around them.

“You’re a freak!  You with your weird birthmark, never talking to anyone!” Gideon yelled. “It’s no wonder everyone prefers your sister!  You can’t even get a date!”

“You’re a monster,” Dipper hissed. “You always think only of yourself!  You have no sympathy, you… you  _ psychopath! _ ” He leapt to attack Gideon who leapt out of the way.  Dipper slammed into a table and turned around.  Gideon punched him.  It hurt, and he clutched his cheek.  He punched Gideon’s eye in return.  People were gathering around them.  Dipper ducked as Gideon punched.  He kicked Gideon’s stomach.  Gideon lurched backwards before punching Dipper again.  The crowd was growing.  Dipper swung at Gideon’s throat.

“Dipper!” Mabel shrieked.  She pulled him back, eventually shoving him outside and away from the party.  Soos was standing there with Mabel.  “What happened?” she asked.

“Gideon,” he said.

“Dipper, I am so, so sorry.  I didn’t think he would be here.  He wasn’t supposed to be here,” Mabel apologized.

“Dude, fighting Gideon isn’t a good idea,” Soos said.

“I could’ve won!” Dipper protested. “You know I can fight.”  He tried to go back inside, but Mabel blocked his path.

“I was just trying to protect you,” Mabel said.

“I don’t need protection!” Dipper spat and stormed home, drunk and upset.  He walked through the park, slowly calming down.  When he was no longer fuming, he sat down on a nearby bench and looked at the starless sky.

“Hey Dipper!” a voice called.  Dipper turned to the voice and saw… Bill?  What was he doing here?  He stood up as Bill walked closer.  Bill chuckled and said “I was just at the movies and headed home.  Where were you?  You seem like the kind of person who would spend all night in his dorm.  I also never took you for the type to dye your hair.”  His face fell, “Are you- Dipper, are you drunk?”

“No,” he said, clearly lying.

“Where’s Shooting Star?” Bill asked.

“Everyone just  _ loves  _ Mabel!” Dipper said, throwing his hands up and stumbling backwards a bit.

“Does she know where you are?” Bill asked.

“I don’t know,” Dipper said, crossing his arms. “Why would I?”

“If she doesn’t know where you are, the two of you will start to worry.  Then you’ll freak out.  I don’t want to have to calm you two down.  That’s too much work,” Bill sighed. “Come on, follow me.”  Bill grabbed one of Dipper’s shoulders and roughly shoved him along.  He lead a stumbling Dipper who tried to keep up with Bill’s fast pace to an apartment building and to an elevator.  Bill was silent throughout the elevator ride.  They left the elevator, and Bill lead Dipper to an apartment and sat him down on the sofa in the apartment.  “I’ll get you some pillows and blankets,” he said.  By the time he returned, Dipper was already asleep.


End file.
